Crybabies. Some Senate Democrats have decided to boycott committee votes to advance Re. Tom Price (R-GA) for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary and Steven Mnuchin for Treasury secretary. From The Hill:
“I can’t understand why senators, who know we’re going to have these two people go through, can’t support the committee,” said Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
“I’m very disappointed in this kind of crap. … Some of this is because they just don’t like the president.”
Hatch also called the boycott pathetic. He stated that the Democrats did not warn him about the boycott, which made him think everyone would show up and vote on the nominees.
Dems are boycotting panel votes on Mnuchin and Price, per chairman Hatch, who says it's
"most pathetic thing I've seen in my whole time"— Joseph Lawler (@josephlawler) January 31, 2017
So now President Donald Trump’s Cabinet remains incomplete since the boycotts have led to ANOTHER delay. From Reuters:
Democrats said they were delaying the vote because they wanted more information on Price’s stock trades in an Australian medical company and reports that Mnuchin’s former bank, OneWest, used automated “robosignings” of foreclosures, which apparently contradicted statements he made to senators.
Sen. Ron Wyden from Oregon said he boycotted the voting due to a Wall Street Journal article “that said Mr. Price had participated in a private stock offering open to just six individuals, directly contradicting testimony he gave the committee in a hearing last week.” The Journal reported:
During the earlier hearing and on several other occasions, Mr. Price has said the stock offering was open to all investors in the company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, which is developing a drug for multiple sclerosis. Mr. Price sat on a House panel that worked on legislation to speed up the process for drug approvals, which would help the company as it works to bring the drug to market.
“The evidence is the company is directly contradicting Congressman Price, indicating that he didn’t tell the truth and he misled the Congress, and he misled the American people,” Mr. Wyden said, standing outside the hearing room.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan said that an Obama nominee “stepped down for much less than what we have in front of us.”
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Comments
Part of these delays are because McConnell is not acting like a Majority Leader. By pass the committees and have the full senate vote! This gentlemen’s game is not working.
Part of these delays are because McConnell is not acting like a Majority Leader.
That is because McConnell is not a leader, Majority or otherwise.
He’s a Republican, you see….
UnaParty tactics. Trillions of Dollars are at stake. Senators are cutting new canals – adding water to the Swamp.
To Hell with the DemocRATs. Vote anyway.
Is there a quorum requirement?
Nevermind, I looked it up:
Yep, but that is a Senate rule, like the 60 vote cloture rule, that can be changed with a simple majority vote.
They could use the D’s boycott as a rationale to change the rule.
Make the quorum simple majority, and no need for other Party representation, for all business conducted in regularly scheduled committee meetings, bump the requirement up for extraordinary meetings (to prevent partisan shenanigans like calling meetings with little or no warning, or after-hours, to ensure the other side misses them).
Then, if they boycott again, they can just hold the vote.
It’s ironic and unfathomable for Deemocrats to treat these guys as though they were conservatives.
Price is a Bohner boi with a “c” CR rating, and Mnnuchkin is the very model of the modern major insider, contributing to Kamala Harris, John Kerry, Hellary, Baracula, and OwlGore.
You’d think the Deemocrats would LUUUUUUUUURRRRRE them some Price and Mnnuchkin.
Somebody needs to light a fire under McConnell’s consistently worthless, dead azz, pull the trigger, and take them with 51 votes. Fu(k ’em.
It’s Wisconsin 2011 all over again. Can their attendance be compelled?
Good question. Is there any sort of meaningful legal or procedural recourse the majority party can take against these idiots?
And Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) has promised to filibuster any SCOTUS nominee Trump proposes. Because that’s not hyper-partisan or crybaby-ish, or something.
Part of me wants to see Trump call him to the carpet on that. Put up someone so flamingly liberal that no Republican will vote to confirm, and force people like Merkley to either keep his promise and filibuster someone they might otherwise support, or sit down, shut up, and let the grown-ups talk.
(Obviously, the stakes are too high to actually risk doing this, but I can dream. 😉 )
Someone once pointed out that saying you’ll oppose anything someone else wants puts you in a very weak position; indeed, they control you and can make you do whatever they wish. All they have to do is ask for the opposite.
I have laugh at the whiny cries of the Dems about how the Trump administration is trying to shove through their cabinet nominees, ‘pushing the minority aside’.
Cry me a river over that one (Obamacare). My advice: GTFOOTW.
How does boycotting the vote prevent the GOP majority from voting?
Is there a quorum issue?
If so, are quorum rules set by each committee, or by the Senate as a whole?
What if the committee convenes to ask more questions (as the Dems are apparently demanding) — and then the chairman calls for a vote?
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/rules
Thanks!
And… it turns out committee rules are set by a simple majority of the committee…
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/senate-panel-votes-advance-trump-treasury-hhs-nominees-article-1.2961271
And this is Senator Orrin Hatch overturning rules and getting things done!
So what prevents the committee chair from issuing an order:
“The Sgt. At Arms is hereby ordered to retrieve the minority members of this committee and bring them forthwith to the rescheduled meeting at six o’clock PM today.”
Oh, I forgot. Republican chair. Nevermind.
I hope the Dems are prepared for the action that their childish boycott is going to cause. The cabinet positions not filled will have to be run by lower level appointees by Trump just like in the DoJ. This means that there will be no professional accountability from Secretaries and only low-level bureaucrats will be blamed for screw ups. It always amazes me that Dems ALWAYS put their ideology and party ahead of country.
It seems like a motion to discharge would be in order here. Force the nominations to the floor for a vote. If that doesn’t work, then McConnell should adjourn the Senate and let Trump recess appoint all the waiting cabinet members.